MythBusters Season 4 Episode 17 Deadly Straw

In Mythbusters season 4 episode 17, titled "Deadly Straw," the hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman investigate several myths related to the use of straws. The episode begins with the duo testing the popular belief that a person can die from suffocation by sucking too hard on a straw. They set up an experiment where they seal a person's mouth around a straw and measure the amount of air they can inhale before they begin to feel discomfort. The results of this experiment are quite surprising.

Next, the hosts turn their attention to the myth that a person can use a straw to sip gasoline from a car's fuel tank. Adam and Jamie construct a device that can extract gasoline from a fuel tank using a straw, and try it out on a car in a junkyard. But things don't go as planned, and the device fails. Undeterred, they try the same experiment with compressed air and finally get a successful result.

In the third part of the episode, the Mythbusters investigate whether it is possible to use a drinking straw to escape from a submerged car. To test this myth, they submerge a car in a pool and try various methods of using a straw to break the car's window. After several attempts, they are able to create a crack in the glass using a straw, but it takes a lot of effort and time.

The hosts then move on to test the myth that sucking hard on a straw can create a dangerous vacuum effect inside a person's roof of the mouth. To do this, they attach a straw to a pressure gauge and measure the amount of force required to create the vacuum. They find that it takes an immense amount of pressure to create the vacuum, and it is extremely unlikely to happen naturally while using a straw.

In the final part of the episode, Adam and Jamie investigate whether it is possible to use a straw to create a lethal blowpipe. They attempt to create a blowgun using a straw and various materials, but their initial attempts fail. They eventually find success when they use a longer straw, a steel wire, and a pointy dart made of steel. The resulting blowgun proves to be deadly accurate, hitting the target with great force and accuracy.

The episode ends with a summary of the myths tested in the episode, and the hosts discussing the most surprising results they discovered. The episode is both informative and entertaining, with lots of interesting experiments and unexpected outcomes. Mythbusters season 4 episode 17 is a great addition to the series, and is sure to keep viewers engaged from start to finish.